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Alabama runs CBRN incident training to evaluate efficiency

Emergency responders in Alabama had the opportunity to run an emergency response plan on Thursday when a simulated CBRN substance exploded in a highly populated area as part of a training course.

The plan used during the training course has been under development for five years. CBRN training takes place regularly as a way to analyze the efficacy of Alabama's multilateral CBRN emergency response tactics. A CBRN response always begins with analyzing the type of substances that could have potentially been used, as it will determine the best response plan, WHNT News reports.

"We try to identify every potential disaster or agent that could be used in a terrorist attack and plan accordingly," Alabama Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Elizabeth Foster said, according to WHNT News.

After identifying the potential substances used in the training exercise, law enforcement officers, emergency management experts and first responders reported to receiving and distribution centers in Colbert County, Alabama, to secure medicine to decontaminate and treat injured or exposed patients. Colbert County serves as the distribution hub for Northwest Alabama during emergency incidents.

"We have less than 48-hours to make sure everything is up and running in order to properly profilax the population," Foster said, WHNT News reports.